Lord Bonkers' Diary: What are you doing with yourself these days?

Lord Bonkers' tact and diplomacy are legendary - in the sense that everyone has heard tales of them but no one has ever seen them.

Thursday

So my old friend Vince “High Voltage” Cable is to throw in the towel and make way for a younger man or, indeed, woman as Liberal Democrat leader. All of which means that I rather put my foot in it the other day.

You see, I met Cable by chance in London and had a long chat with him. Our conversation ranged over his boyhood in York and experiences as a young economic adviser in Kenya, before he regaled me with amusing tales of his time as whip of the Labour group on Glasgow City Council. How we laughed! Then we discussed the finer points of ballroom dancing: he is known as a dab foot at the Cha Cha and Rumba, while I have a lot of balls.

Then, as I now see, I spoilt things by saying: “Tell me, old man, what are you doing with yourself these days?” No wonder he gave me rather an old-fashioned look when we parted.

Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West, 1906-10.

Earlier this week....

• Suspended by the bigwigs
• Mike and Bernie Sanders
• Remembering my horse trials